Black Heart of Mine
by SparklingDashofEgypt
Summary: What if Edward had never been turned? Would Jacob have gotten the girl? This story explores the possibility of the JacobxBella story. If you're a EdwardxBella fan, this is not the story for you.
1. First Meeting

Chapter 1: First Meeting

If I never moved to Forks, I wouldn't have met the love of my life. If I had never moved, I would have lost out on the chance to be happy. Would I have found someone else? Probably. But I would not have been as happy. Here is my story.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" My mom asked for the thousandth time as she drove to the airport. It was seventy-five degrees in Phoenix and I was wearing my favorite shirt-white eyelet lace; my carry-on was a parka.

I was moving to the small town of Forks, Washington, where it rains almost constantly. My mother escaped with me when I was only a few months old and remarried to a baseball player. Now we live in Phoenix-or rather I did live in Phoenix until now.

"Mom I _want_ to go." I lied, hating to lie to her. I'd lied so frequently that I almost believed it. "I'll write every chance I get." I promised.

"You better. And if you need me, I'll come right back." She promised, giving me one more hug.

I got on the plane and she was gone. It was a four-hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, an hour in a small plane to Port Angeles, and then an hour drive in the cruiser to Forks.

Charlie was waiting for me when I got off the plane. I stumbled and he caught me. "You never change, Bells." He sighed, chuckling.

"Good to see you, Dad." I smiled.

I had only a few bags that fit in the trunk of the cruiser and soon we were in the car on our way to Forks. "I bought a good car for you, really cheap." Charlie informed me, as he drove.

"What do you mean, cheap?" I was nervous of the way he said "good car for you" instead of just "good car".

"Do you remember Billy Black? He's from La Push?" La Push is an Indian reservation on the coast.

"No." I frowned. "What kind of car?"

"It's a truck, a Chevy actually. He can't drive anymore because he's in a wheelchair, so he sold me his truck cheap." Charlie explained.

"You know I can't fix it if anything goes wrong, and I can't afford a mechanic, Dad." I protested.

"Come on, Bells, The thing runs great." Charlie reasoned.

 _The thing._ I thought grimly,internally rolling my eyes.

We arrived at Charlie's house and I spotted the red truck on the curb. I instantly loved it. "Wow, that is so great! Thanks, Dad!" I gasped, eyes wide.

Charlie turned red, and stared out the windshield. "That's great, Bella. I'm glad. I hope you will be happy here." He mumbled, embarrassed.

I stared out the windshield as well. "Sure, Dad." I mumbled in reply. No need to upset him.

I wasn't sure if it would run, but I was going to find out tomorrow.

The next morning, I woke up still tired. The wind and rain kept me awake until after midnight even with a faded quilt and pillow over my head. I dressed and had dinner with Charlie. He wished me good luck at school and he left for the police station.

I got in the truck and started the engine. It roared to life, idling at top volume. I drove to the school, finding it easily.

I decided to stop at the office to ask for help. I parked in the lot in front of the building marked _Front Office_. I went inside.

The office was surprisingly warm and so full of plants that it reminded me awfully of the greenery outdoors. A woman in a purple-t-shirt sat at a counter looked up from a stack of papers. "My name is Isabella Swan." I informed her.

"Yes, we've been expecting you. Let me get your paperwork." She looked through a precariously stacked pile and found the papers she was looking for. "Here's your schedule and have the slip signed and return it at the end of the day. Here's a map as well." She showed the best route to each class and handed the paperwork to me.

"Thank you." I took the paperwork and headed for my truck. I found a parking space and studied the map carefully and headed for my first class, English.

The reading list the teacher gave me was easy and boring since I've read all the books. After class a boy with black hair and bad acne approached me. "You're Isabella Swan?" he asked, smiling friendly.

"Bella." I corrected, cringing internally.

"I'm Eric." The boy introduced. "This must be different from Phoenix."

"Very."

"It doesn't rain very often there?"

"Three or four times a year."

"It's pretty sunny there, huh?"

"Very." I agreed.

"You're not very tan."

I scowled. "My mom's part albino."

Eric gave me a blank look and I sighed. I doubted I would remember how to use sarcasm after a few months after this rate.

Eric walked me to my next class, even though it was clearly marked. "Well," he said, pausing as I started to open the door. "I hope we have more classes together." He sounded hopeful.

I smiled pleasantly as I entered the building.

The rest of the morning passed quickly and I noticed that some of the same students were in my classes. One girl in particular sat by me in my Trigonometry and Spanish class and walked with me to lunch.

It was then while I sat, trying to talk to seven strangers, that I spotted them.

They were sitting across the long room from my table, four beautiful figures. They were pale as chalk, with shadows under their eyes like they hadn't slept for several nights.

But that's why not why I couldn't keep my eyes off them.

They were complete opposites. Of the two boys, one of them was big and muscular with dark curly hair. The second was lean and muscular with honey blond hair. The girls were long and blond and short and dark haired

Because they were the kind of faces that an old master would paint as the face of an angel.

"Who are they?" I asked quietly to my neighbor, whose name I'd already forgotten.

The girl looked up, no doubt already knowing who I was talking about. The girl with the short dark hair looked up, her dark eyebrows furrowing over her dark eyes. I ducked my head, cheeks flaming.

"That's the Cullens." The girl muttered under her breath. "The curly haired one is Emmett, the blond male is Jasper, the blond girl is Rosalie, and the dark-haired one is Alice. They're adopted."

I remembered my neighbor's name was Jessica. "They look a little old for foster children." I frowned.

"They are. Jasper and Rosalie are eighteen. They've been with Dr. Cullen and his wife since they were eight. And they're together." Jessica scowled, clearly incensed by the scandal.

I nodded, glancing in the direction of the Cullens. The girl had looked away and the others didn't look in my direction.

I headed to Biology and the teacher, Mr. Banner, gave me a book and sent me to the only empty table in the middle of the room. I sat and he started class. The lecture was on cellular anatomy, something I'd already studied, so it was very boring. I took notes, avoiding the stares of the other students.

When the bell rang, a baby-faced boy with pale blond hair approached my seat. "Hi, I'm Mike." He grinned, leaning against my desk.

"Hi, Mike." I greeted, nodding.

"Where's your next class?"

"I'm going to the gym, I think I can find it." I assured him.

"I'm heading there too, it's my next class." He seemed thrilled by the idea.

I let him lead me to the Gym and he waved as he left me at the entrance to the girls' locker. Coach Clapp, the teacher, gave me a uniform, but didn't make me dress down.

The sport of study was volleyball and I sat watching four games at once, dreading the next class where I would have to play. After class, I dressed quickly.

I returned my signed slip to the receptionist. "How was your day?" she asked, smiling.

"Fine." I smiled, feeling relief that the day was over.

I drove home shaking my head at the friendliness of the boys in Forks.


	2. Walk on the Beach

Chapter 2: A Walk on the Beach

By Friday, I had was able to recognize most of the people at school. I had walked with Mike every day between classes. When we exited our English class, I noticed fluffy bits of white falling gently from the sky. "Ew, snow." I groaned.

"You don't like snow?" Mike asked, surprised.

"It means it's too cold to rain." I wrinkled my nose. "Aren't they supposed to be unique and all that?"

Mike shook his head. Suddenly, a snowball smacked into the back of his head. We turned and saw Eric walking the wrong direction for his next class. Mike made a snowball, watching Eric walk away.

"Thanks for walking me, but I go inside when snowballs fly." I headed toward my next class as Mike let the snowball go.

By the end of class, the snow had started to melt and everyone groaned. "There goes my plan for an epic battle." Mike sighed, disappointed.

I smiled to myself as we walked to our next class. _At least I won't be a target of snowball snipers._ I thought.

The next morning, I woke up to see that the fog that usually pressed to the window had lifted, and then groaned. Everything was covered in snow or ice, so walking today would be a hazard.

I carefully made my way to the truck, regaining my balance by clinging to the rearview mirror. I drove carefully to school, noticing that the truck had little trouble on the icy roads.

When I got out, I saw why. Charlie had put snow chains that crisscrossed on my tires. I felt tears well up in my eyes at the show of concern.

An odd noise made me look up. A van was careening toward me, skidding on the slick pavement. It was going to hit the back of the truck, and I was in the way. I saw the Cullens standing four cars down, and the dark-haired girl was staring. I closed my eyes.

Before the crunch of metal and the shattering of glass came, I was pushed from the wrong direction, knocking me out of the way of the van's path. My head cracked against the icy pavement.

But the van kept coming, aiming to crush my legs. Before I could cry out, a pair of cold hands dragged my legs out of the way.

There was a moment of silence and I could hear the cries of disbelief nearby. An unfamiliar, musical female voice came out low near my ear. "You okay?"

I looked at my savior and realized it was the pale, dark-haired Cullen Jessica said was named Alice. "You saved my life." I whispered.

Alice looked nervous. "I had to do something." She whispered.

"How did you get over here so far?" I asked, in amazement.

"I was standing right beside you." Alice frowned, but even that looked beautiful on her perfect face.

"No, I'm sure you were over by your car." I insisted stubbornly.

Alice sighed. "You might have a concussion, you don't know what you saw." Her eyes tightened.

"I'm sure my head is fine." I snapped.

The ambulance arrived and it took two teachers to move the van far enough to get us out. I was loaded onto a stretcher with a back brace. Alice insisted she was fine and rode with me to the hospital.

Tyler was brought in and he looked a lot worse than me. "Bella, I'm sorry!" he pleaded.

"It's okay, Tyler. I'm fine." I promised him, sighing.

I was checked out and the doctors determined that I didn't have a concussion. But the nurse said I had to wait for the doctor to talk to me. I sat, trying to ignore the mumblings of Tyler from the next bed.

Finally, Alice and a young blond doctor arrived. This had to be Dr. Cullen, Alice's father, based on how much they looked alike in pallor and the dark shadows under his eyes.

"Miss Swan, how do you feel?" Dr. Cullen asked, lighting the board above my head.

"I'm fine." I sighed, hoping it was the last time I would have to say it.

Dr. Cullen examined the X-ray in silence for a moment. "Your X-ray looks good. You can go home now. If you have dizziness or having trouble with your sight, come back." He advised.

"Thank you. It was good that Alice got to me so fast." I commented casually.

Dr. Cullen paid particular attention to the chart in his and as he answered. "Yes, that was very lucky for you." He walked over to Tyler to tend to him. I was instantly suspicious. Was the doctor in on it?

I hopped off, and Dr. Cullen had to catch me.

"You okay?" Dr. Cullen looked concerned.

"It's nothing." I mumbled, turning pink.

Charlie and most of the students were waiting for me. "You okay?" Charlie asked.

"Not even a concussion." I smiled.

Charlie spoke up as he drove home. "You need to call your mom."

"You called Mom?" I asked, horrified, turning red.

Charlie smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

It took several tries to get her to calm down, telling her I was fine over and over. She wanted me to go home, but I found it easier to resist that urge than I thought it would be. "Thanks for your concern mom. I'll let you go."

"Bye, sweetheart." Renee hung up and I sighed.

Mike had arranged a beach trip for two weeks later. I pulled into the parking lot of the sporting goods store, appreciating the sunlight that was a rare occurrence.

Mike grinned when he saw me. "I told you it would be sunny."

I smiled. "Yes, you did."

"You want to ride in my SUV?" Mike asked, eyes bright. Jessica frowned.

"Sure." I nodded. We all piled into the SUV and drove to First Beach in La Push. We got out and headed down to the rocky shore where there were driftwood, bleached white by the waves.

A fire pit was already set up and Mike set to the task of starting a fire. "Watch the colors." He told me, placing a burning branch into the pile that was already burning.

"Wow, it's blue." I said, surprised.

"It's the sea salt." Mike explained, sitting down beside me. Jessica was on his other side and captured his attention.

The boys that were gathered decided to go on a hike and after the standoffish girl named Lauren refused to go, I quietly joined them.

I love the tide pools and watched them, careful to make sure I didn't fall in.

After a while, the hiking group got hungry and I followed them back to the beach. There were newcomers when we arrived, locals from the reservation, with copper-skin and black shiny hair. I noticed a young boy of about fifteen or sixteen smiling when I was introduced.

Another group let for a hike and the boy came over to introduce himself. "I'm Jacob Black, I believe your dad bought my dad's truck." He greeted.

"Oh right. I should remember you." I smiled apologetically.

"You probably remember my sisters. It's no biggie."

"Oh right." I said vaguely remembering the two girls that Billy, Jacob's father, and Charlie had pushed us together during my summers here. "Do you want to go for a walk?"

"Sure." Jacob said eagerly. We headed down the beach in silence for a few minutes and then he spoke up, "Do you like scary stories?"

"Do I? I _love_ them!" I made my voice sound as enthused as I could.

Jacob rubbed his hands together to warm them as he began. "Have you heard the stories of the Quiluetes?"

"No, I don't think I have." I gave him an apologetic look.

"We supposedly survived the Flood by tying our canoes to the trees at the top of the mountain. And then we are supposed to be descended from wolves. It's a major infraction to kill one."

"Hm." I nodded, encouraging him with my hand to go on.

"And then we have stories of the cold ones." Jacob injected a note of foreboding into his voice.

"The cold ones?" I asked, not feigning interest now.

"Blood drinkers, or vampires as your people call them. My great-grandfather encountered four of them in his time. They claimed to not drink human blood, but animal blood. They _claimed_ to not be dangerous to people." Jacob rolled his eyes to show how much stock he put in the story. "They were pale, beautiful creatures."

"Does it have anything to do with the Cullens?" I asked, curious.

"They are the cold ones from my great-grandfather's time." Jacob said, smirking at the shiver that ran up my spine.

"We better go back." I said, looking at the sky. Clouds had gathered over our heads.

"I hope to see you soon." Jacob said wistfully.

"Next time Charlie goes to see Billy, I'll see if I can go too." I offered.

"That would be great." Jacob grinned.

I returned to the gathering and we headed home.

I fell asleep quickly that night but woke up in the middle of the night, Jacob's story keeping me awake. It was five in the morning.

Sighing, I loaded my ancient computer and got a bowl of cereal while it wheezed to life. When I returned to it, it had loaded.

I went to the search site and shot down all the pop-up ads. I clicked on the search bar and entered one word.

 _Vampire._

After a dozen more pop-up ads were taken care of, I found a promising site called Vampires A-Z. I looked through the descriptions of the various vampires from around the world, but couldn't find one that matched the things I had witnessed about Cullens.

Could they be vampires? Alice was definitely not human, I decided. I decided it didn't matter. They weren't bothering me.

Having gotten my question answered, I was tired enough to sleep. I laid down and fell quickly asleep.


	3. Friends Turn into More

Chapter 1: Friends Turn Into More

I arrived home from school a few weeks later to discover a dark car on the street. I recognized the driver as Jacob Black. I went over and greeted them. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

Jacob got out of the car and went to the other side, smiling broadly. "Hey, Bella. How are you doing? My dad was anxious to see Charlie."

"And Jacob here was just _dying_ to see you." Came a gravely voice from the passenger seat. Despite not remembering Jacob's father, I instantly recognized the voice as Billy Black. Jacob went to the trunk and pulled out a wheelchair. He helped Billy into it and wheeled him inside.

"Charlie will be home soon if you want to wait." I offered, unlocking the front door. I held the door open for them. Jacob wheeled his father into the house.

Charlie came home finally, grinning broadly to see his best friend had come to visit. "What a pleasant surprise. What do I owe this unexpected visit?"

"Our TV broke so I was hoping that we could watch the game on yours." Billy grinned sheepishly.

"Of course. I'd be happy to." Charlie grinned.

"Are you hungry?" I asked, heading for the kitchen. "I can make some grilled cheese sandwiches."

"Sure." Charlie nodded.

"We already ate, but thanks." Billy smiled apologetically.

"I'll join you." Jacob offered, following.

I led the way to the kitchen and began making the sandwiches. I noticed that he was silent and looked up. "Something wrong?" I asked, noticing he was looking awkward.

"I was wondering…" he hesitated, and then it came in a rush. "If you would go out with me sometime."

I blinked in surprise. "Oh. I didn't know you liked me like that."

Jacob shrugged, looking nervous. "You were really friendly on the beach and you're pretty. I like that."

"I'm not pretty." I mumbled, looking away. I checked one of the sandwiches.

I didn't hear him move but then I felt his hand on my chin, turning my face toward him. "Don't think that. You're beautiful." He murmured softly.

My pale skin turned pink under his dark gaze and my breath caught in my throat. He lowered his head toward mine and kissed me tenderly.

A faint burning smell interrupted our kiss and I broke it, looking down at the stove. "Dangit, it's starting to burn." I muttered, flipping the sandwiches.

"I hope your dad likes burned grilled cheese sandwiches." Jacob replied with a chuckle, eyeing the slightly blackened cooked side of the sandwiches.

"He's not going to care very much. He's probably too hungry to worry about it." I finished the sandwiches and slid them onto plates.

"Why is it burnt?" Charlie asked as I handed him a plate.

"I got distracted and forgot to check on it." I replied. I found a seat and took a bite of my sandwich.

Charlie and Billy exchanged looks. "Did Jacob have something to do with your distraction?" Billy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Dad!" Jacob complained, his already russet skin turning even more red.

"We heard something going on." Charlie explained, sounding amused.

"Let's leave these old men to watch the game." Jacob grumbled, heading for the door.

I followed Jacob out of the house and into the woods just past the backyard. I was startled when I felt his hand slide into mine. "Oh, I didn't realize-"

"Is it okay?" Jacob asked, unsure.

"Yeah, it's just all new to me." I explained. "I've never had a boyfriend before."

"Really?" Jacob looked skeptical. "I can't imagine that you wouldn't attract a lot of guys."

"None of the guys back in Phoenix were interested in me. Maybe because I'm pale or uncoor-whoa!"

Jacob caught me as I stumbled over a root that I didn't see. "Wow, you are clumsy." He commented, keeping a firm grip on me.

I blushed furiously, looking away from him. "I don't understand why you would be interested in me."

"Because," he said softly. "You're endearing. And I've known you since we were little. Remember when we made mud pies together?"

I laughed. "And I made you eat it?"

"That's when I thought you were something special. You stood up for yourself."

"You were a pushover for a pretty face, admit it." I teased, punching his arm lightly.

"Maybe. Maybe I was just a pushover for you." Jacob smirked.

"So, we'll go out sometime?" I asked, hopefully.

"I thought this was the first date." Jacob looked surprised.

"Oh no, we have to go out to a movie or something. You better take me out proper."

Jacob blushed. "I can't legally drive yet. How are we going to get there?"

"Do you mind if I drive? We'll have to deal with my old beat-up truck." I sighed.

Jacob groaned. "That's the reason I wanted to get rid of it. You can't go very fast in it."

"And you like fast cars." I said it as a statement, not a question.

Jacob flashed a brilliant, white smile. "I love fast cars."

"We'll take my truck and pretend it's a race car, how about that?"

"That's a long stretch." Jacob sighed.


End file.
